A Royal Boost for the Ubunye Foundation

Announcing the launch of the Foundation’s Royal Patronage and new name

The newly named Ubunye Foundation (previously the Angus Gillis Foundation) is delighted to announce the Patronage of Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex.

The Ubunye Foundation is a development trust dedicated to unlocking the potential of rural communities through an integrated community development approach focusing on leadership development, savings groups, enterprise development, family health and early childhood development. In 2013 the Foundation was privileged to be included in an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the President’s Award in South Africa as part of a visit to the country by Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex.

During the visit The Countess expressed her support for the work of the Ubunye Foundation. With the knowledge of HRH's active commitment to charitable work, both within the United Kingdom and abroad, a formal request was made to take up Royal Patronage of the Ubunye Foundation.

In accepting the Patronage The Countess said, “I am proud to be associated with the Ubunye Foundation. I commend their work in the rural Eastern Cape and their developmental approach, which empowers individuals and families to positively shape their own lives and communities. Having seen the work of the Foundation I was immensely impressed with the passion and enthusiasm shown by the people I had the pleasure of meeting”.

, Her Royal Highness' Patronage is a testament to what the Ubunye Foundation has achieved, hand in hand with its community and donor partners for over more than a decade.

Having been established in 2002 by the original owners of Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, the then- Angus Gillis Foundation was an integral part of their vision for the land. With new ownership of the reserve in 2013, the Foundation’s new name celebrates its growth over the past decade in its geographical reach, strategy and vision.

‘Ubunye’ is an isiXhosa word that loosely translates as ‘togetherness’. This new name is related to the philosophical concept of ‘Ubuntu’, which speaks to essential human virtues of compassion and humanity, and the idea that 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. The concept of ‘togetherness’ echoes the original motivation behind the trust’s establishment and its vision of working together to create a more equitable, socially just society for all.

The Ubunye Foundation is proud to have become an independently funded, non-profit organisation with a reputation for developing and implementing innovative projects which focus on genuinely asset-based, community led development.